Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tuhourangi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) is the recipient of the inaugural Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Internship established earlier this year by Radio New Zealand to support Te reo Māori and foster Māori journalism.

Te Aniwa was born in Masterton and grew up in the Wairarapa. She traces her iwi affiliations back to Ngāti Porou through her mother’s Rutene whanau from Tokomaru, and Te Arawa – Ngāti Tuwharetoa on her fathers side.

Te Aniwa attended Wairarapa College before studying at Massey University in Wellington and will graduate with a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in journalism and media studies. She said the RNZ role would be her first major career step:

“I am very fortunate to be the first recipient of the Henare te Ua Maori Journalism Internship. It is great to see that RNZ are committed to initiatives that will foster a greater space for Maori voices to be heard.”

The annual RNZ – Henare te Ua Māori Journalism Internship programme is a paid twelve month position at RNZ for a Māori graduate who is passionate about journalism, with strong te reo knowledge, and an ability to assist in reflecting and reporting issues of significance to te ao Māori.

The internship recognises the outstanding veteran Māori broadcaster Henare te Ua (Ngāti Porou) whose career spanned four decades. His ability to easily move between English and Māori, his leadership and remarkable communication skills marked him as an exceptional broadcaster.

RNZ CEO, Paul Thompson, acknowledged the inspiration of Henare te Ua and the role of the extended te Ua whanau when the initiative was announced earlier this year:

“This internship recognises the mana of the late Henare te Ua and his outstanding contribution to broadcasting in Aotearoa / New Zealand. We thank the te Ua whanau for their encouragement and for extending their whole hearted support to the initiative.”

Te Aniwa Hurihanganui will be based in Auckland and will work alongside RNZ news staff researching, reporting, writing and presenting news and current affairs stories.